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Soval
Soval was a Vulcan male in the 22nd century who served as Vulcan Ambassador to United Earth from United Earth's formation before becoming Vulcan Foreign Minister in 2155. Soval was a controversial figure who began his career favoring restricting Humanity's attempts to explore space until they were "ready;" in later years, however, he became an advocate of Earth in the Vulcan government. Soval had a great deal of influence on the development of the Coalition of Planets and was one of the signatories of the Articles of the Federation. Biography Early Career In the 2050s, Soval enrolled at Vulcan Ministry of Security and was made a low-level intelligence operative. One of his first missions was to accompany a Vulcan occupation force to the planetoid Paan Mokar, in an attempt to remove forces of the Andorian Empire from the surface. At the time, he was an intelligence officer that was attached to the Vulcan forces that were attempting to secure the planet. He was also pivotal in the formation of the Territorial Compromise between the Vulcan government and the Andorians. ( ) Earth Politics By the early 2100s, Soval had ended his career as an intelligence operative and instead began to take an interest in peace and diplomacy. By the early 2120s, Soval was assigned by the Vulcan High Command as the Vulcan Ambassador to Earth, based at the Vulcan Compound in Sausalito. ( ) It was known that during his early career as an ambassador, he engaged in a mind meld with his diplomatic mentor who had lived during the century long Vulcan-Romulan War. This led to him becoming aware of the kinship between the Vulcans and the Romulan races which was one of the darkest secrets his species held and refused to share with other races. ( ) :Soval's position would originally been serving as ambassador to the nations of Earth, later becoming Ambassador to United Earth when it was formed in 2130. Soval often urged caution at the rate of Human advancement into the cosmos, and took steps to impede the progress of the Warp 5 Project under the direction of Henry Archer. As the official representative of the Confederacy of Vulcan, Soval held strong influence over the government of United Earth; indeed, many came to regard him and other Vulcans as the "powers behind the throne," with United Earth seen as having a puppet government. In particular, Soval's attempts to impede the advancement of the Warp 5 Project caused resentment between Soval and Archer's son, United Earth Starfleet officer Jonathan Archer. Unbeknownst to the world at large, however, Soval had privately begun to soften his previously hard-line views towards Human development, developing a great deal of affection and admiration for Human progress. Nonetheless, he continued to effectively represent the High Command's rather high-handed policies towards Earth, which reflected its general foreign policy. ( }}) ''Enterprise'' NX-01 Following the crash-landing of a Klingon shuttlecraft in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, in 2151, Soval suggested that the United Earth Starfleet postpone the launch of ''Enterprise'' (NX-01), Earth's first Warp 5-capable starship, until the situation with the Klingon Empire could be resolved. However, Captain Jonathan Archer managed to convince his superiors, to allow Enterprise to return Klaang to his homeworld. Soval then used his considerable influence to have his aide, T'Pol, stationed aboard Enterprise as science officer as a condition of Starfleet's use of Vulcan starcharts; many regarded it as an attempt to spy upon Human progress or to retain control of their actions. T'Pol later chose to become a permanent member of the crew with the consent of Captain Archer, the United Earth Starfleet Command, and the Vulcan High Command. ( ) In February 2152, Enterprise was accused of destroying the Paraagan colony and its mission was canceled. Soval suggested that the complete Human space exploration program be canceled for twenty years, as they were not ready to explore the galaxy. However, after the Enterprise crew were found innocent and with a statement by T'Pol, Starfleet Command ignored Soval's recommendation and the mission was reinstated. ( ) Later that year, fighting once again broke out between the Confederacy of Vulcan and the Andorian Empire over the disputed planetoid Paan Mokar. Andorian Imperial Guard Commander Hravishran th'Zoarhi requested that Jonathan Archer, a third party he trusted, to mediate cease-fire talks. Ambassador Soval was ordered by the High Command to contact the United Earth Starfleet and Captain Archer. Soval and Vulcan Subcommander Muroc rendezvoused with Enterprise to relay the message. Soval was not initially in favor of Archer's presence, and was suspicious of the Andorians' request for his mediation. Nonetheless, he agreed to meet with Commander th’Zoarhi in Captain Archer's company on Paan Mokar's surface. Unfortunately, their shuttle was shot down by renegade Andorian forces; Soval initially sought to meet up with Vulcan forces afterward, but Archer insisted on speaking to th’Zoarhi. Soval was injured in an attempt to reach th’Zoarhi's headquarters by the renegade Guardsmen, but nonetheless provided Archer with cover fire while in combat. Eventually, Soval, Archer, and Vulcan Subcommander T'Pol were captured by th’Zoarhi's forces, leading to the identification and arrest of the renegades. Archer then began to mediate a cease-fire aboard Enterprise -- an agreement that proved mutually acceptable to all, and held for over two years. To celebrate, th’Zoarhi insisted that they drink to it with Andorian ale. Although reluctant, Soval did not wish to offend th’Zoarhi, and partook in the gesture. As T'Pol escorted the Ambassador to the Vulcan ship, he admitted to Captain Archer that "his presence here had not been... overly meddlesome." Soval's view of Captain Archer and Humanity was beginning to change. ( ) Following the Xindi attack on Earth in March 2153, Soval was skeptical of the information that Captain Archer had obtained from the Suliban Cabal about the perpetrators of the attack. As instructed by his government, he explained that Vulcan would not become embroiled in Earth's conflict, nor would it aide in Earth's attempts to locate the attackers. Believing Archer's claims of receiving information from the far future to be quite fantastical, he sent Fer'at, a Vulcan psychologist, undercover to Enterprise to ascertain whether Archer was under mental pressure. When Starfleet Command approved Archer's proposal to enter the Delphic Expanse and track down the Xindi, Soval, acting on behalf of the High Command, demanded that T'Pol return to Vulcan for a new assignment. However, she refused and resigned her commission. Soval remained on Earth throughout the duration of the Xindi Crisis. ( ) Upon Enterprise s successful return from the Delphic Expanse in 2154, Ambassador Soval participated in a Starfleet board of investigations which reviewed Captain Archer's mission. Soval initially reprimanded Captain Archer for several concerns regarding the Vulcan ship Seleya, which Enterprise had been forced to destroy during the Xindi Crisis. Soval complained that Archer's boarding party had not retrieved the Seleya s data recorder, so the panel could truly know what happened aboard the ship. However, Ambassador Soval subsequently thanked Captain Archer for saving their region of the galaxy from the Sphere Builders upon learning from T'Pol that the Delphic Expanse would have grown to destroy all of known space, including Vulcan. ( ) Vulcan Reformation In June 2154, Soval returned to Vulcan with United Earth Starfleet Admiral Maxwell Forrest to participate in a High Command review of future joint operations between the High Command and the UE Starfleet. After both gave testimony, Soval confessed to Admiral Forrest his opinion that the Vulcan High Command would likely suspend future joint operations out of fear of Humanity's rapid technological and societal progress. At the United Earth Embassy on Vulcan, Soval and Forrest were nearly killed when the Embassy was bombed; Forrest died saving Soval's life. The High Command blamed a Cthian sect known as the Syrannites for the bombing, specifically implicating Syrannite leader T'Pau. Profoundly shaken, Soval became deeply skeptical of his government's claims, and when Enterprise arrived at Vulcan to conduct United Earth's official investigation, Soval encouraged Archer to pursue his investigation against Vulcan objections. When a single survivor of the bombing was deemed likely to have seen the bomber but was still in a coma, Soval revealed his hidden nature as one of the oppressed melders, mind-melding with the survivor and discovering Vulcan High Command Security Director Stel to have been responsible for the attack. Telepathy was considered a major taboo in Vulcan society at the time, and when it was publicly disclosed, Administrator V'Las personally stripped Soval of his position as Vulcan Ambassador to United Earth. ( ) Soval came to realize that the bombing had been conducted by the High Command to discredit the growing Syrannite movement because of its pacifist philosophy as part of a plot to increase support for a planned preemptive invasion of the Andorian Empire. V'Las planned to justify the invasion by releasing information alleging Andorian development of a weapon of mass destruction based upon Xindi technology -- evidence that Soval now doubted. Realizing how devastating the ensuing war would be to Vulcan, Soval informed Starfleet Commander Charles Tucker III, in command of Enterprise while Captain Archer and now-Starfleet Commander T'Pol investigated the Syrannites on the Vulcan surface, of Administrator V'Las's plot. Soval and Tucker agreed to warn the Andorians of the incoming invasion, traveling to the edge of Andorian space. A skeptical Hravishran th’Zoarhi, in charge of Andorian forces, was unable to believe that the distinguished ambassador would so easily betray his own government. Commander th’Zoarhi abducted Soval from Enterprise and subjected him to a mental torture that lowered his emotional threshold in order to confirm his story. Soval's insistence -- and a few warning shots from Enterprise -- persuaded th’Zoarhi to return Soval and advise the Andorian Imperial Guard of the imminent invasion. ( ) In the ensuing battle, Soval served aboard Enterprise, providing the crew with technical and tactical support as the Enterprise crew attempted to get between the alien forces. With the element of surprise gone, the Vulcan invasion force met stiff resistance, giving enough time for the Kir'Shara to reach the Vulcan capital of ShiKahr from the Forge. Upon the activation of the Kir'Shara s writings, Administrator V'Las was relieved and the invasion stopped by Minister Kuvak. Having already confessed his more liberal attitudes towards Humanity to Commander Tucker, Soval later informed Captain Archer of the dissolution of the High Command and a more encouraging foreign policy to be adopted towards Earth. ( }}) Coalition of Planets Soval was re-instated as Vulcan's Ambassador to United Earth with the establishment of the new Vulcan government. Ambassador Soval attended United Earth Prime Minister Nathan Samuels' opening negotiations for the establishment of a Coalition of Planets in San Francisco in January 2155. He, like all non-Humans, was amongst those threatened with death by the terrorist organization Terra Prime if he did not leave the Sol system within one day of the opening of negotiations. Ambassador Soval noted that the apparent public support for much of Terra Prime's xenophobic message, if not its overt threats, was a troubling facet of Human society. Nonetheless, when Captain Archer of Enterprise defeated the terrorist organization and gave a speech in support of the establishment of the Coalition to the assembled emissaries of prospective Coalition members, Soval was the first to rise, giving a standing ovation to Jonathan Archer and extending his support to Prime Minister Samuels' plans for the Coalition of Planets. Soval had firmly established himself as a new and strong ally of United Earth and Captain Archer. ( | }}; ) With the rise of T'Pau to the position of Vulcan First Minister, Soval was appointed Foreign Minister of the Confederacy of Vulcan in 2155, shortly after the Romulan attack on Coridan Prime. Minister Soval spent much of July 2155 on Earth, representing Vulcan on the Coalition of Planets Security Council during the escalating Coalition-Romulan crisis. ( }}) Later in 2155, Soval opposed T'Pau's move to keep Vulcan out of the Earth-Romulan War and attempted to convince her to bring Vulcan into the war, but T'Pau remained adamant. Soval was then responsible for defending the policy in front of the Coalition government. ( ) in 2160, after learning of the impending massive Romulan invasion on Earth, Soval went to T'Pau again, in a final effort to convince her about joining the war. This time he was successful and after some meditation on the matter, T'Pau sent a fleet of Vulcan ships to Cheron to assist the Starfleet pre-emptive strike against the amassing Romulan fleet. This contribution ensured Earth's victory and essentially put an end to the Earth-Romulan War. ( ) United Federation of Planets Soval established himself as a multilateralist in his later years. To that end, Soval was amongst the signatories of the Articles of the Federation on 12 August 2161 at the Candlestick Auditorium on Earth, cementing his place in history as one of the Founders of the Federation. ( ) In 2162, Soval served as Federation Commissioner of Foreign Affairs and accompanied Captain Bryce Shumar of the on a first contact mission with the Saurians, an advanced pre-warp race that was discovered in 2157 by the . However, as soon as they arrived at the planet, the crew of the Essex was contacted by two space stations representing two different factions of the Saurians. Trying to avoid any favouritism, Soval decided that they should visit the two factions at the same time, so Commissioner Soval went to the M'Tezir facility while Captain Shumar went to the Global League station. In the following months Soval and the Essex returned several times to Sauria for trade negotiations. It turned out that most of the planets' valuable minerals, such as dilithium and tritanium, are located on the continent of the M'Tezir Empire; an outdated monarchy ruled by a tyrant named Maltuvis. This discovery gave relevance to the dying empire, shifting the balance of power. Soval, in his negotiations tried to compensate for this and include the more enlightened Global League. In April 2163, he accompanied Council President Thomas Vanderbilt to Vega colony for the finalizing talks and the trade agreement between Sauria and the Federation. During the talks Maltuvis approached Captain Shumar with an offer: Federation weapons for Saurian resources. After Shumar rejected the offer, he immediately briefed Soval and Vanderbilt. Soval suggested that they sever contact with the Saurians, as they had already compromised their world enough, but ultimately decided that would be even more harmful, so the trade agreement was finalized. ( ) Legacy A 24th century Federation Starfleet starship, the , was named in his honor. ( }}) Appendices Connections | years=2130–2155}} Appearances * * 2152 * * 2153 * * }} (Alternate) 2154 * * * * }} 2155 * }} * * }} * |Beneath the Raptor's Wing}} 2156 * |Beneath the Raptor's Wing}} 2160 & 2161 * |To Brave the Storm}} 2162 & 2163 * 2164 * 2165 * }} External link * Category:Vulcans Category:21st century births Category:Ambassadors Category:Federation Commissioners